by Chloe DeFrancesco

Last week, you may have seen a plethora of social media posts of sunsets or landscapes with the caption #happyearthday. Well, what’s Earth Day and how’d it come to be? 

On April 22nd 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin launched this national holiday in order to shed light on national health issues that were not taken care of. It is celebrated by hosted rallies, clean-up events and educational programs. Earth Day went global in 1990 and many countries in recent years have spread awareness on social platforms. Around one billion people every year acknowledge Earth Day and celebrate it. 

Many years ago, there were no legal mechanisms to protect and help our environment, the EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) that is government run didn’t exist and neither did acts that preserved air and water. In January 1969, an oil spill from a plane occurred on the coast of California. Over 10,000 animals in the ocean died due to 3 million gallons of oil being spilled into the Pacific Ocean. The travesty sparked attention across the country of the United States causing many environmental activists to stand up and protest change.